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West Chicago's Lelito: New conference offer opportunities for Wildcats

By SCOTT SCHMID - sschmid@shawmedia.com

Aug. 30, 2013

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Erica Benson - ebenson@shawmedia.com
Colin Lelito gets support from his West Chicago teammates after intercepting a pass Friday during practice.

WEST CHICAGO – Colin Lelito returns as the starting free safety for West Chicago and will be counted on as one of the leaders for the Wildcats in 2013. Lelito and his teammates enter their first season in the Upstate Eight Conference after departing from the DuPage Valley Conference.

Schmid: How did summer camp go for the team?

Lelito: It was a lot better than in the past. We had a lot more kids out. We worked a lot harder than we have in the past.

Schmid: Are you excited about the upcoming season?

Lelito: I'm really excited. We are in a new conference facing new teams and we have a bunch of new opportunities to prove ourselves.

Schmid: What are your feelings about moving to the Upstate Eight Conference from the DVC?

Lelito: I think we have a chance to make an impact in it. We have a chance to make a name for West Chicago.

Schmid: How can you guys start to turn the corner as a team and as a program?

Lelito: We have players in the right spots, we just have to start making the plays. I think at this point, we have the athletes to make those plays.

Schmid: How nice would it be to start the season off with a win?

Lelito: I think that would give us a great momentum push, especially after going 0-9 last year. It will prove to ourselves we are stepping up as we go into a new conference. And it would really bring some life to our school.

Schmid: What do you expect from your offense this year as well as your defense?

Lelito: Offensively, I think we will be pretty strong on the ground as well as through the air. Jordan [Lelito] is a great QB, we've got a lot of tall receivers and we've got solid running backs. Defensively, I think we are going to have to be gap sound to have success. We are probably going to be undersized throughout the season so we have to use our knowledge and speed to counter that.